Cultural Milestones & Ceremonies - Syllabics

When a Cree baby is born, all the family rejoices and feasts. The baby is given his names by specific family members. They might differ according to the family's and community's traditions. The parents usually give the child is habitual name, the one he will use on official papers. The Godparents or the grandparents will provide the child with his proper Cree name. Many will choose this name in accordance with family tradition or an event that is taking place at the time of the birth of the child. Names describing an element of the weather or the time of day are frequently used. The individual naming of the baby will usually announce the name and explain by a legend or the story of the pregnancy or birth, the reason why that name was chosen. Traditionally, no gifts are given except for an offering from the family to Chaymendo in the form of animals bones hung in a tree or a plate setting with a meal for the creator.

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Here are some common Cree names:

Beedabuyin: Sunrise

Niyuan: Snow

Wabeeguyin: 

Wichetuyin: Southern wind

Neepuyin: Summer

Winter in Eeyou Istchee brings its loads of pleasure and hard work when you live in the bush. Snowshoes are the best locomotion method that enables the Cree to hunt, gather and trap. This is how they survived for thousands of years in the harsh winters of the North.

Snowshoe making is also a craft in Eeyou Istchee. The wood is carefully cut, bent, sanded and transformed into different types of snowshoes. The regular ones (elongated), for hard snow and the bear ones (rounded shape), for softer snow.

Because it takes at least a season to make the snowshoes for the child, the ceremony is usually held at the end of winter. Traditionnally, it is the father or the grandfather of the child that makes the snowshoes.

Waiting for the end of winter also allows for milder weather. A site is chosen to hold the ceremony, usually on the trapline of the family or at another family's trapline upon invitation, if it is easier to travel there. The Cultural Village of the community is often used. Family and friends are  invited to watch the young boy (between the ages of 4 to 7 years old) take his first steps dressed as a hunter and pulling a sled containing accessories he would need to go hunt in the bush. Warm tea and snacks are served and a feast later follows the event. 

A Walking Out ceremony is when a child's feet touches the land for the first time. Families are always careful to have the baby crawl and practice standing up and take a few steps inside the home. It is only during this ceremony that his feet will touch the creator's land for the first time. This ceremony  needs extensive preparation. There are programs that will support the family throughout the process. Each year at Aboriginal Day (June 24th), each community prepares Walking Out ceremonies for all the community. Whoever wants to join in will have support to prepare the regalia and the the teepee, boughs, spruce tree and decorations.

The children's outfit will differ according to their gender as the Cree tradition gives respect to women and men's roles. A girl will wear a flowery dress and scarf to cover her head, the boy will wear camouflage clothes or moose hide pants and vests. Headbands can replace hats and scarfs.

The girl's accessories will identify her role of primary care of her family and harvesting. She will have a bundle bag with a small wooden axe to cut boughs that are needed to cover the teepee flooring. She will be carrying her teapot and some boughs. 

The boy's accessories will relate to his family provider and protector role. He will be carrying a small wooden gun strapped on his shoulder and wearing his bullet bag across his chest. He might be pulling a previously hunted small goose or bear as an offering to Cheymando the creator. 

The preparation needs to be started in advance as it is usually the mother and Gookum that prepare the outfit and accessories. This can take months as it is a learning process for many. In the past, everyone knew how to do this but now-a-days the young parents need to learn themselves to perpetuate the tradition through the generations.

The preparation for the decor starts on the for-day with setting up the teepees and collecting the boughs and the smalll spruce. Boughs are needed for the teepee flooring as well as to make a path from the door of the teepee to the small spruce, around it and the path continues back to the door. The door of the teepee usually opens to the east where the sun wakes and the ceremony is always held  at dawn. (around 7h30-8am). The family, friends and community are invited to attend. The child and parents or grandparents get ready in the teepee. Only one chosen family member goes out with the child and help him or her to drag their bundle or game and to walk around the spruce and back to the inside of the teepee. It is frequent for the families to help the child with some role play. For the boy to make as if he is shooting the goose with his gun and the girl to slice off some boughs from the spruce tree and her axe.

While this is happening, it is customary for the parents and family of the child to have prepared snacks (bannock, donuts, deglep, etc. ) and to offer it to all who the witness the event.

Attending a Walking Out has a special meaning and should not be taken lightly. All individuals present make a silent oath to support and welcome the child in the community. They should "walk" with that child all his life.

A girl becomes a woman on her first moon cycle which is the start of her first menstruation. An identified primary caregiver (mother, Gookum, aunt) will go on a retreat with the young woman. A teepee is set-up far away from the others. Boughs cover the flooring and the teepee provides all that is needed to have a few days stay or until the young woman has stopped bleeding.

This time spent isolated gives the older woman the opportunity to teach the young one her role now that she became a woman, its significance and how she should behave to honor her womanhood. In the past, amongst family groups, it was easy to notice that a young lady became a women and the boys of the village understood their behavior towards her needed to be more respectful.

There was a time Cree people celebrated the coming of age of a young man by transporting him to an island, usually by canoe, to leave him there alone for two to three days with very few items. To prove his manhood, the young boy had to build his shelter, keep himself warm and hunt, fish and gather small fruits to feed himself.

This is not done these days, but each family can celebrate the beginning of manhood in their own traditional way.

A Pow Wow is a celebration of life, a huge offering given to Cheymando, the Creator. This ceremony is colorful and joyful as well as very spiritual for all. Dancers come from all surrounding areas to dance. As you need to register to dance, first time dancers also need to and they cannot dance without an initiation ceremony. 

Men, women and all youth can participate. There are different categories of dancers: Fancy Shawl, Jingle, Hunting Dance and Gookums' Dance. There is always one Head female and one male dancers specifically invited by the Pow Wow Committee in charge of organizing the ceremony. There is also a Master of Ceremony, usually chosen for his past achievements. 

As for other ceremonies, there is a huge preparation to dancing at a Pow Wow: the making of the regalia. Each dancer prepares his own regalia and refines and adds to it with time. The dances are beautiful, always accompanied by the drum and, are also used to tell stories.